Part supplying device



April 2, 1946.I

H. D, LENNON PART- SUPPLYING DEVICE Filed March 5. 1942 FIG.

A TTORNEV Patented Apr. 2, 1946 PART 'SUPPLYING DEVICE vHarry D. Lennon, Cranford, N. .l'., assignor :to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, .New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York 6 Claims.

'Thisinvention relates to'part supplying devices, and more particularly 'to devices for supplying parts formanua'l assembly.

The element of time is of utmost importance in minimizing 'the cost of manufacturing articles formed of manually assembled parts. 'If such parts are to be assembled singly, itis found that the timerequired to assemble each part in addition'to'thephysical'effort on the part'oitheperson 'assembling'the parts, is `reduced to a minimum, by Vsupplying the parts singly,'to eliminate the necessity of the *person separating one part from a 'group of parts foreach assembling step.

An'ob'ject'of the invention is to provide a feeding 'device Which'issimple in structure and highly eilicient in supplying 'parts iii-selected layers.

With this and other objects in View, the invention comprises a feeding device having a body with'an inclined bottom portion, the body being divided into a supply reservoir and a feeding tray portion by an actuable element adapted to control movement of `the'parts from the reservoir ontothe tray portionina' single layer.

Other objects and 'advantages will be apparent 'from the following detailed description rwhen considered in'conjunction' with -the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is atop plan View of the device; Y

Fig. `2 isa side elevational view yof the device, a portion thereof'be'ingshown insection;

Fig. v3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along ithe-line 33--3 lof Fig. 2, and

Fig. `4 vis an enlarged Vfragmentary sectional View taken along the1ine-4-4 of Fig. 3.

Attention is now directed to the drawing, wherein reference numeral lill indicates generally a body including-sidewalls Il and l2, a back wall I4, and a bottom portion l5. The sides VI-I 'and l2 yare of the 'contour illustrated in '-Fig. 2, and in the present instance are `not shown parallel with eachV other, the .purpose of this structure being that a plurality of such devices maybe mounted side by side At formanarcuate assemblyjof devices for 'feeding various types of parts for the operators '-use in assembling an article. A plurality 'of bolts vIt, intermediate sleeves l1 and suitable washers I8 `are employed in the present instance as reenforcing means for the sides Il-and l2 andmay, if desired, serve as connecting means to connect-this device With other similar devices in forming the arcuate assembly aforementioned. Adjustable legS'ZI), lL-shaped in general contourVhave'iie'longate apertures 2| in the Tvertical portions thereofto 'receive `the ends ofthendiacentbolt llli,'the latter servngto se- Application March, 1942, Serial lNo.4335489 cure the legs in ,desired 'adjusted positions ,to vary the 'angle ofthe :bottom portion 15. As will be observed by Viewing Fig. 2, the sides 1| ,and l2 extend beneath the bottom portion ITB andit is upon the lower edges ofthe sides that theentire device rests. vThe device, however, through the adjustment oi the legslll, may-,be'tilted into .various"angular qpositions about 4.the forward .lower ends of the sides Hand I2.

The v.body -Ill Vis .divided "into two portions .by .a control'unit, indicatedgenerally at 25, one of .the portions of the body being termed a reservoir 26I for a multiplicity o'f parts 21, 'the .other l,portion of the body being termedla 'tray T28, upon which the vparts will slide ldownwardly when released from the reservoir. The control 'un'it'25`has a flat -gate-'like,portion"31) completely separating the two portions of the body and v.being pivotally mounted Yon farod '31,' the ends `of which are supported in v`apertures in `the sides 'H and l2, or other suitable structures. 'The lower `end of the portion 30 projects into the reservoir, said `portion v3l] having an Aarcuate guide Vportion '32 for a purpose "hereinafter described. Brackets 33 are mounted nearjthe lower lends 'ofthe portion '3U at the isides'thereoand have Vapertures therein to receive'a hollow shaft '34, the ends of which, in the present instancaareiforced outwardly to pro- 30vide a xed 'connection between the shaft Vand' 35 36 with Yintermediatespacing 'members y3l' In *thel present embodiment Nthe lroller sections 36Y `are formed of 'suitable material, such-as hard -rub ber, the spacing -members 3"1 being formed vof a suitable metal `to `minimize 'frictional Jcontact between "the roller sections. AThe roller sections `I36 as well as 1their 'intermediate v'spacers `3f1 have openings 38 and i39,'=respective1y, which are all of the 'same 'size Ibutvwhioh are larger than the hollow shaft 3'4, as illustratedin'igs. 3 and 4, for 'the kpurpose hereinafter "described To `provideimeans 'for the manu-a1 actuation yof the 'unit 25, a handle 4U is fflxed to the 'member 3U Avnear tends forwardly to -a-convenent point, where it willbe rreadily-accessible to-'the operator.

Upon yconsidering the `operation Aof `the fdevice, Y

tion of the rollerV sectionsv36 and their spacers 31 during the actuation of the unit 25. For the purpose of illustration, let it be assumed thatV there are no parts on the tray portion 28. VTo,

start the feeding of the parts from the reservoir to the tray, the operator actuates the unit 25 through the aid of the handle t, moving the handle downwardly. to cause counterclockwise movement ofthe unit 25 about its pivot 3|, to` I move the roller unit 35 inwardly throughan arc.Y

If desired, the operator may. grip the gatel B to actuate the unit 25.

the roller unit it is moved away from thebottom in reality is a part of the bottom portion, may,P

be varied, with, vof course,`variations in the position of the other portions of the body through the adjustment of thev legs 2t on their bolt IS.

The operation of the handle may be repeated until the tray portion 28 is filled with aV single layer of the parts. When this has been accomplished there is present a sufficient number of parts to carry out several assembling operations Vand it is not necessary for the operator to actuate the unit 25 each time a part is desired. As af matter of fact vitis seldom, through aworking day, that an operator needs to actuate the unit 25 through the aid ofthe handle 40 as the roller unit 25 is adapted to rest on the singlev layer of parts which extend into the reservoir and may pass freely beneath the sections of the roller unit and onto the tray, as the parts Yat the forward edge of the tray are removed. Itis only when this free feeding of the parts cease'sthat it is necessary to actuate the unit to cause the roller unit to perform its other functions in loosening Ythe parts in the reservoir and continue the free movement of l the single layer of parts` Attention' is directedto i the contour of the tray 28,.which is curved as illustrated in Fig. 2, for several reasons, forexample, to eliminate continued travel of the parts when released Afrom the reservoir, the force reaccessible to the operator.V A furtherreason for tray, some of which maybe at an inconvenient l portion for the operator to grasp, but as the foremost parts are removed from the tray, the others will slide forwardly, where they may be readily grasped by the operator,` WA, still further feature regarding the tray lies iny thethinness thereof,

Y enabling the operator to obtain a part by placing a nger on the top thereof, sliding the part off the forward edge of the tray, where the thumb may engage the under surface of thepart as the part Y is removed from the tray. Furthermore, the entire bottom portion I5may constitute the tray Y f l divided by the unit 2-5 into a reservoir 26 for parts and a portion 28k to receive the parts from the reservoir inV a single layer.

If for anyreasontwo parts v211should adhere to During this movement of f some other part so that the upper part would not be separated from the lower partduring the actuation of the unit 25, the structure of the roller 35 will enable the two connected parts to pass onto the tray without disturbing the remaining sections of the roller. This is made possible dueto the large openings 38 and 39 inthe sections 36 and the spacers 31 respectively. In such an instance the roller'section 36 adjacent'the connected parts may be raised upwardly a suflicient distance toV allowboth parts to pass therebeneath and under the tray without interfering with the control of Vthe'other roller sections 36 orrthe spacers 31.

Therefore, if nine parts may be fed simultaneously to the tray and only one of those parts has another part connected therewith, the remaining eight parts will move on the tray in a single layer Y with the double or ytwo connected parts. As long as the two connected parts remain in the reservoir and are so connected, that they will not be separated through the force of the roller unit, it

is to the operators advantage that such parts be,

removed and it is of utmost importance that such parts do not disturb the function of the roller unit, regarding the other parts passing onto the tray, during that particular portion of the operation. It will, therefore, be apparent that the device is composed of a body divided into two por tions, namely a `reservoir for a multiplicity of the curvature of the tray portion is to cause parts v at the back of the tray to slide forwardly as other parts at the forward edge of the tray are removed.VV As a result, numerous parts may bev located on the i parts and a tray portion, byv an actuable element adapted to control movement of the parts from the reservoir ontothe tray in a single layer, allowing, however, foreign parts or inseparable parts( to pass onto the tray at any section of the roller unit without Yaffecting the other sections thereof. Furthermore, the function of the roller unit with its sections would make posible the controlling of the movement of various types of parts Vin a single layer onto the tray, due to the various distances the rollersections may move away'fiom the bottom portion or tray.vr It is again pointed out that the tray portion has many features for the controlling of the movement of the parts'in selected layers to the forward portion, where the parts may be readily grasped by the operator, the contour of the ,tray controlling Aadditional advancement of the parts as the foremost parts are removed. y f f y rAlthough specific improvements of the invention have been shown and described it will be understood that they are' but illustrative andthat various modifications may be'made therein without departing Yfrom the scope and spirit of this invention as dened by the appendedk claims.

f What is claimed is: Y

1. A part supplying device comprising a body, a partition like element having a roller unit disposed at the lower edge thereof, dividing the body into a reservoir for a supply of parts `and a tray portion to receive the Y.parts from the reservoir, means carried by the body to support the element abovev the roller unit for pivotal movement from a position where the roller unit rests upon the body at the juncture of the reservoir andtray portion to aposition in the reservoir, means actuable to cause pivotal movement of the element to move the roller unit into the reservoir, and a guard portion of the element Yfor the roller unit extending into the reservoir partially around the roller'unit and movable with the element and unit.

2. A part supplying device comprising a body, and a control unit, dividing the body into a reservoir for a supply of parts'and'a tray portion to receivethe parts-,from the'reservoir, includ--` ing a gate carrying a shaft .with its ends fixed to the lower end of the gate and annular members disposed for free rotation on the shaft and having inner diameters larger than the diameter of the shaft for lateral movement of the members relative to the shaft'.

3. A part supplying device comprising a hollow body with side walls and a bottom disposed generally at an inclined plane between the walls and fixed thereto, the forward portion of the bottom curving upwardly, an element in the form of a partition, dividing the body into a reservoir for a supply of the parts and a forward tray portion, and means carried by the side walls to pivotally support the element, whereby the lower extremity of the element, will normally rest uponthe said bottom to close the reservoir adjacent the tray portion, and will be movable into the reservoir to free parts lying in a single layer across the said bottom for movement toward the said curved portion, the contour of the latter controlling the forward movement of the parts thereon.

4. A part supplying device comprising a hollow body with side walls and a bottom disposed generally at an inclined plane between the walls and fixed thereto, the forward portion of the bottom curving upwardly, an element in the form of a partition, dividing the body into a reservoir for a supply of the parts and a forward tray portion, means carried by the side walls to pivotally support the element, whereby the lower extremity of the element, will normally rest upon the said bottom to close the reservoir adjacent the tray portion, and will be movable into the reservoir to free parts lying in a single layer across the said bottom for movement toward the said curved portion, the contour of the latter controlling the forward movement of the parts thereon, and legs adjustably secured to the side walls to vary the inclined position of the said bottom to vary the` distance of movement of the leading parts on the forward curved portion by the force of the lfollowing parts travelling down the inclined tray portion of the said bottom.

5. A part supplying device comprising a hollow body with side walls and a bottom disposed generally at an inclined plane between the walls and fixed thereto, the forward portion of the bottom curving upwardly, an element in the form of a partition, dividing the body into a reservoir for a supply of the parts and a forward tray portion, a shaft disposed parallel with the said bottom and having its ends carried by the element adjacent the lower end thereof, annular members disposed upon the shaft for free rotation thereon and having inner diameters larger than the thickness of the shaft to facilitate verticalmovement of the members relative to each other, and means carried by the side walls to pivotally support the element, whereby the annular members will normally rest upon the said bottom to close the reservoir adjacent the tray portion, and will be movable into the reservoir to free 'parts lying in a single layer across the said bottom for movement toward the said curved portion.

6. A part supplying device comprising a hollow body with side walls and a bottom disposed generally at an inclined plane between the walls and fixed thereto, the forward portion of the bottom curving upwardly, an element in the form of a partition, dividing the body into a reservoir for a supply of the parts and a forward tray portion, a shaft disposed parallel with the said bottom and having its ends carried by the element adjacent the lower end thereof, annular members disposed upon the shaft for free rotation thereon and having inner diameters larger than the thickness of the shaft to facilitate vertical movement of the members relative to each other, and means carried by the side walls to pivotally support the element, whereby the annular members will normally rest upon the said bottom to close the reservoir adjacent the tray portion, and will be movable into the reservoir to free parts lying in a single layer across the said bottom for movement toward the said curved portion, the shaft holding the annular members against relative movement when the element is in its normal position.

HARRY D. LENNON. 

